Games for teaching

I do private tutoring for parents on how to use PC. Very basic stuff like how to use Word and how to write E-mails/use the Internet. 

To my problem: I often get asked:"What´s the deal with video games" or "How do I know determine a good from a bad game for my child"

Right now I´m using Bastion as a good example for a game and Facebook Games as a bad example. I like to use Bastion because it has an interesting story attached to easy to learn gameplay mechanics. Facebook games on the other hand are often money grabbing time sinks. I´d like to know, should I include violent games as bad/mature games? Also it would be great if you could give me more suggestions for a "good" game.

I know a school somewhere in America is using Minecraft. Id say maybe something like little inferno.

Psychonauts is the best game ever made, and if you have a different opinion you're wrong.  Deadly premonition is also a good example if you want to get into a whole thing wether or not video games are art.  Anything made by EA, or Activision in the last 7 years is awful.  Anything on mobile or facebook is just as bad.

Portal 2, Dragonbox, Civilization, Minecraft... actually took a course in this (Games and Learning) last year.  Anyways, I dislike placing all games of a certain group into a "bad" category... doesn't seem particularly useful and very biased.

 

I do agree that Psychonauts is a great game, but I am not sure if it is a good example. It might be too "far off" for the parents so they might get a wrong idea and think that every game is, how shall i put it, weird? I will take a look into deadly premonition, haven´t played it before.

Minecraft is a excellent Idea and I don´t know why I didn´t think of it. 

Of course when I say Facebook games, I mean free to wait games, where you have to wait a day until anything is finished or you have to spend money on it. I also tell them how free to play works in general, how a good F2P looks and what you want to avoid. 

DP is definitely rough around the edges, and that's the nicest way to put it, but it still is a lot of fun if you can forgive good story and humor for some poor gameplay decisions.  Kinda like Psychonauts but with a FBI agent but just as silly.

I agree there are some good F2P games like TF2 or Gotham City Imposters.

Also you don't more of you play GCI, its a fun mix between TF2 and CoD but not shit like CoD.